When I settled in this Wednesday to watch the second Republican GOP debate, I expected the usual: some highly offensive comments from Donald Trump, a dash of intolerance from everyone else, a splash of discontent with the gay-marriage decision, and a heaping scoop of “let’s-build-a-wall” rhetoric. On some levels, my expectations were met. While the others emphasized their thanks for their long marriages and beautiful families, Trump introduced himself by saying “I’ve made billions of dollars.” Huckabee promptly addressed how the Kentucky marriage license clerk incident is a “crime against Christianity.” Chris Christie said that Hillary Clinton “believes in the systematic murder of children” because she is pro-choice. Trump made jabs at the appearances of Fiorina and Rand Paul, with his caramel swirled combover and beet-red face glistening oh-so-beautifully under the harsh camera lights.
However, what I didn’t expect was what came next. About an hour or so into the debate, Donald Trump had the nerve to criticize Jeb Bush for speaking Spanish to a reporter instead of English, saying “This is America, we speak English, not Spanish.” Bush reciprocated the best that he could, saying that of course he would address someone in Spanish if that is the language in which they addressed him. Marco Rubio then took the reigns, saying that he will speak in whatever language the American people get their news in, that he’d rather have the Spanish-speaking portion of Americans receive their news directly from him, not from a translator.
While these responses were appreciated and sufficient, no presidential candidate responded as eloquently and effectively as a certain female…and I don’t mean Carly Fiorina.
The woman I’m talking about was not even on stage. Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton had an A+ response to Trump’s ignorance, tweeting promptly, “La libertad incluye el derecho de hablar en cualquier idioma. Eso nos hace fuerte como país y es algo que debemos celebrar—no denigrar.” Translated into English, this means, “Freedom includes the right to speak in any language. That makes us strong as a country and is something that we must celebrate-not denigrate.”
By responding to the obtuse discussion in the language of the 13% of Americans that speak Spanish in their homes, Hillary showed not only her acceptance, but her willingness to reach out and embrace the overwhelming number of people in our country who are living through their culture and speaking their language, as they should. Through this tweet, Clinton simply but eloquently acknowledges that America is a nation founded on immigrants, people who had their own previous customs and languages and ways of being, and escaped to the United States in hopes of a better life. It’s never been about assimilating into American life; American life literally is the giant mix of cultures and languages and people that come here, building it, changing it and enhancing it along the way. And within that ever-changing tableau comes freedom - including the ability to speak whatever language you so choose, and you should never feel forced to suppress who you are and where you came from.
People who speak other languages are important. They are citizens of this nation, they contribute to everything that makes America, America. So let us all have open minds and open ears to everything anyone has to say, even if it’s said in a different tongue. Language is beautiful, as are different cultures, and every language deserves all of the respect and acknowledgement we can give it… because if everyone was the same, the great American melting pot would be pretty boring.
